Warwickshire Council's Portfolio Holder Decisions/Leader Decisions meeting on 14 November 2025, chaired by Councillor Stephen Shaw, Deputy Leader of the Council, authorised the Executive Director for Resources to submit a Disapplication to the Secretary of State, requesting a transfer of 0.5% of the 2026/27 Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) from the Schools Block to the High Needs Block, amounting to approximately £2.484 million. This decision was made under the council's urgency procedure due to tight deadlines. The council may withdraw the request depending on the final school block allocation.

Transfer of Funding from Schools Block to High Needs Block

The main item discussed was the proposed transfer of 0.5% of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) from the Schools Block to the High Needs Block for the 2026/27 financial year. Councillor Stephen Shaw, Deputy Leader of the Council, approved the submission of a Disapplication to the Secretary of State requesting this transfer, with the ability for the Executive Director for Resources to make amendments before the 17 November 2025 deadline.

This decision was made due to the financial pressures on both schools and SEND ¹ provision, which are acknowledged nationally by the Department for Education (DfE). The Schools Block funding is ring-fenced, but local authorities can transfer up to 0.5% to other blocks with Schools Forum approval. Without this approval, a disapplication request must be submitted to the Secretary of State.

A consultation with Warwickshire schools and academies took place between 25 September 2025 and 23 October 2025 regarding the proposal. At the Schools Forum meeting on 5 November 2025, members voted in favour of the transfer if the hard National Funding Formula (NFF) ² could still be applied, but voted against it if it would reduce school allocations. The Schools Forum also requested that the disapplication request note their support for the council's SEND and Inclusion strategy, particularly regarding Specialist Resourced Provision (SRP).

The report noted that modelling based on 2025/26 allocations suggested that 171 out of 236 schools would be impacted by the 0.5% transfer, costing primary schools an average of £7,464 and secondary schools £45,793. The actual impact will only be calculable once the DfE releases 2026/27 funding allocations in December 2025.

The council intends to use the transferred funds to create additional places in SEND Resourced Provisions, aligning with the Delivering Better Value (DBV) programme and the SEND and Inclusion Change Programme. These programmes aim to address financial sustainability issues within the High Needs Block.

The council cited several reasons for the urgency of the decision, including the tight deadlines between the consultation period, the Schools Forum meeting, and the disapplication submission deadline. Councillor Andy Crump, Chair of the Resources and Fire Overview and Scrutiny Committee, consented to the urgency, stating that the decision could not be reasonably deferred.

The report also provided background information on the National Funding Formula, the previous disapplication request for 2024/25, and the SEND and Inclusion Change Programme. The programme focuses on:

• Increasing the number of children and young people with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).
• The increasing unit cost for a child with an EHCP, especially in independent specialist provision.
• The extended duration children and young people hold an EHCP, up to age 25.

The council has been working to expand Resourced Provision (RP) places in mainstream settings. As of September 2025, 448 places had been created across 39 schools, exceeding the target of 327 places by January 2026. The report stated that:

There is no doubt that RPs are delivering positive outcomes, value for money and cost avoidance in the system. However, it has not changed the overall trajectory of spend because of the overall increase in children and young people with EHC plans and the increased unit cost of independent specialist provision.

The report also highlighted the financial pressures on the High Needs Block, noting that Warwickshire is not alone in facing these challenges. The number of children and young people with EHCPs has risen from 4,299 in January 2020 to 6,868 in January 2025, with forecasts predicting over 8,306 by 2028. The top three primary needs for those with an EHCP are Autism (38%), Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs (25%), and Speech, Language and Communication Needs (18%).

The unit cost of supporting a child with an EHCP is also increasing, particularly for independent specialist provision, which averages £71,630 per child. In comparison, a place in a mainstream school costs £11,434 (excluding the £6,000 school contribution), and a place in a resourced provision costs £21,210 (including £10,000 place funding).

The council is relying on a statutory override, a temporary accounting mechanism that allows local authorities to exclude DSG deficits from their general fund balances. However, this does not eliminate the underlying pressure and impacts the council's cash balances.